


In Machinam

by apolesen



Category: Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Mirror Universe
Genre: Exploitation, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Major Character Injury, Male-Female Friendship, Minor Character Death, Mirror Universe, Mirrorverse-typical unethical behaviour, Non-Graphic Violence, Protectiveness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-05
Updated: 2018-01-05
Packaged: 2019-02-28 20:52:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13279665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/apolesen/pseuds/apolesen
Summary: ‘You’re getting your wish, Stamets. You want to be part of your invention? You will be.’ Lorca turned to the guards. ‘Take him to Engineering. I want him shackled inside the spore chamber.’





	In Machinam

**Author's Note:**

> A take on the events surrounding the spore-drive, set in the mirrorverse. 
> 
> Full list of trigger warnings: Minor character death, reference to major character death, major character injury, reference to murder and violence, emetophobia.
> 
> Some lines are borrowed from episodes of Discovery.

Hugh Culber was on his knees in the puddle that had formed in the spore chamber. 

‘I don’t want to do this.’ 

‘You have to,’ Paul said quietly enough that no one else would hear. 

‘It’s not right.’ 

‘Do you want to give Lorca a reason to kill you? Never mind the ethical consequences.’ 

Hugh leaned forward, looking for the best place to insert a needle between the tardigrade’s plating. 

‘I’m not sure this will work,’ he admitted. 

‘Rehydrating sleepy tardigrades isn’t something they teach at med school, is it?’ 

‘It’s not asleep,’ Hugh said, though he knew that any more explanation would be lost on him. He thrust in the needle and injected the concoction of drugs. The creature twitched and started to unfold. It seemed to be swelling. Then, abruptly, the twitching turned into convulsions. As quickly as they had started, they stopped. Hugh looked down at his tricorder. He looked up at Paul and shook his head. 

‘Shit,’ Paul said. 

‘Lieutenant Stamets, sir,’ said Tilly, more timid than usual. ‘The captain’s ordered a black alert.’ 

Paul crossed his arms, watching the creature inside the spore chamber. 

‘It’s not gonna happen, Cadet.’

The comm crackled to life. 

‘Engineering, I ordered a jump.’ 

Hugh and Paul exchanged looks. 

‘Stamets, are you disobeying a direct order?’ Lorca growled from the bridge. Paul crossed to the console. 

‘No, sir, but we’re having a problem with the spore drive.’ 

‘Then fix it,’ Lorca said. 

‘It’s not that simple, Captain.’ 

There came no answer. Less than a minute later, the doors opened and Lorca marched in. Even after working under him for months, Hugh still felt a tug of fear every time he saw him. The captain’s bare arms bore scars from old battles. A newer one was on his face, covering the entire left eye-socket, leaving the eye milky. The right was a sharp blue, a colour that did not even try to look natural. If you looked at that eye from the right angle, you could see a red pinprick in the pupil, blinking steadily. No one on the ship seemed to know quite how he got those injuries, but there was a rumour that he had destroyed his old ship to quench a mutiny. Hugh found it all too easy to believe. 

‘Alright, you hound,’ Lorca spat. ‘What is your excuse?’ His hand was on the hilt of the dagger at his side. 

‘It’s the tardigrade,’ Paul said. ‘It’s…’ 

‘It’s dead, sir,’ Hugh supplied. 

Lorca stepped towards the chamber. There was a long moment of silence as he looked at the husk of that huge creature they had found aboard the _Glenn_. A growl rose from the back of his throat. With sudden force, he spun round and upturned the nearest trolly with instruments. They scattered across the floor, ringing loudly against the metal deck. 

‘Captain, I think I have a work-around,’ Paul said. Even if he made an effort to sound calm, there was an edge of fear in his voice. Lorca stopped himself and glared at him. 

‘What? Got another tardigrade tucked away somewhere?’ 

‘We’ve have been analysing the tardigrade’s DNA. It would be able to introduce its genetic information into a human host, giving that person the ability to navigate the spore drive.’ 

‘How much time do you need to get the genetic information?’ 

‘We already have it, Captain,’ Hugh said. 

‘Fine. Do it,’ Lorca said. He pointed at Tilly. ‘Use her.’ He turned and left. 

As soon as the doors had closed, the cadet broke out in a stream of words. 

‘We can’t just change someone’s genetic information like that – we haven’t run any tests or data-models or anything – we don’t know what it’ll do…’ Sweat gleamed on her forehead. ‘And I have allergies – perhaps it wouldn’t work properly. If it’d work at all. Has anyone ever done anything like this?’ 

‘She has a point,’ Hugh said. ‘It’s only a theory. It might not work.’ 

‘We’ll find out soon enough,’ Paul said and reached for the hypospray. Hugh grabbed his wrist. 

‘What are you doing?’ he hissed. 

‘What do you think?’ Paul shook off his hand and took the hypo. 

‘The captain gave you an order,’ Hugh said under his breath. ‘You’re not indispensable…’ 

Paul looked him in the eye. 

‘If anyone is going to commune with my invention, it’s going to be me.’ They held each other’s gaze a moment longer. 

‘Fine,’ Hugh said, looking away. Paul gave a crooked smile. 

‘Tilly, be ready to jump.’ 

He stepped into the chamber, pushing away the carcass of the tardigrade with his boot. As he raised the hypospray, Hugh wanted to stop him, but knew better than to try. There was nothing he could do now. The hypospray hissed and slipped from Paul’s hand. He stood stock-still, his hand still raised. 

‘Go.’ 

The spores flooded the chamber. They danced around him, their blue light making his skin look paper-white. The grating sound of the spore drive’s parts moving filled engineering. With sudden force, the needles extended. Hugh thought he could hear when they pierced Paul’s sides. His body arched and went rigid. The spores moved around him faster. 

Then it was all over. The needles retracted and Paul fell. Both Tilly and Hugh ran to the chamber.

‘Is he dead?’ Tilly whispered. Hugh felt for a pulse. 

‘No, he’s not.’ 

Paul’s eyes snapped open. 

‘Did it work?’ he asked. 

Tilly stared at him for a moment before she managed to speak.

‘Yes, sir.’ 

Paul laughed. It was uncontrolled laughter of a kind Hugh had never heard from him. 

‘Tilly, help me get him up.’ He took hold of Paul’s arm. ‘Do you think you can stand?’ 

Paul did not answer. He was still laughing, breathing only in gasps. Tilly took his other arm and together they got him to his feet. 

‘Come on, Paul,’ Hugh said. They steered him out of the chamber. It was slow going, and by the time they exited Engineering, his laughter had changed to a chuckle. When they got to an intersecting corridor, Hugh said: 

‘Left here.’ 

Tilly looked at him, confused. 

‘But sickbay’s that way.’ 

‘We’re not going to sickbay.’ 

‘But…’ 

‘I’ll explain when we get to our quarters.’ 

It was not far. When they stepped inside, Hugh gestured to her to let go of Paul. 

‘Lock the door,’ he told her as he led Paul to the bed. He unzipped his jacket and pulled the fabric away from the wounds. ‘Try to keep still,’ he said, but Paul had not even hissed with pain. The lack of reaction concerned him – Paul tended to make a fuss over even minor injuries – but he did not look unresponsive. Instead he was watching the ceiling, smiling to himself. Hugh got the medkit he had hidden away and tended to the wounds caused by the spore drive’s needles. They were not as deep as he had suspected. ‘How are you feeling?’ 

‘Like I got stabbed,’ Paul said. There was no sarcasm in his voice. ‘I saw it. The network. I was part of it.’ He started laughing again, just as he started shaking. 

‘What’s wrong with him?’ Tilly asked. She had moved a few steps closer to the bed, but she was still keeping her distance. She was watching Paul with something between apprehension and fear. 

‘It must be a side-effect of the horizontal gene transfer,’ Hugh said. He had no idea how such a thing would manifest in a human, or what adverse effects it might have. Tilly made a small sound, a half-swallowed sob. She stood stiffly, her arms at her sides. Her hands and closed into fists and although she tried to fight it, she was crying. Hugh got to his feet. ’Tilly…’ 

‘What am I doing here?’ she asked. ‘Why didn’t you take him to sickbay?’ 

He pulled out a chair and waved to her to sit as he sat down on the foot of the bed. She took the chair, but kept her face averted. He was reminded how young she was. 

‘We needed time to get our stories straight,’ Hugh explained. ‘Paul disobeyed a direct order. Lorca will be furious. We need to keep this under wraps until we can figure out a good reason why we gave the transfer agent to him instead of you. ‘

Tilly sniffed and straightened up. 

‘Okay,’ she said, professionalism returning. ‘What can I do?’ 

‘Perhaps we can use your allergies,’ she said. ‘We could say that I recommended against it.’ 

‘Won’t the captain just punish you then?’ 

‘Lorca might be irrational, but he must understand that medical facts can’t be changed.’ 

‘Wanna bet?’ Paul muttered. Hugh gave Tilly a brief smile before getting up and rounding the bed. He sat down on the side of it and stroked Paul’s hair. Paul smiled lazily and his eyes drifted shut. 

‘Are you feeling okay?’ 

‘Yes.’ 

‘You sure?’

He opened his eyes a little. 

‘Yes, dear doctor.’ 

The quarters’ doors reverberated with a blow and the light in the controls went out. With a screech, the doors were pried open. Tilly was on her feet, wide-eyed. Hugh grabbed Paul’s hand. Security guards stormed into the quarters. One grabbed Hugh by the shoulders and tossed him aside. Two took hold of Paul and pulled him off the bed. 

‘Get off me,’ he shouted. ‘Get off me!’ They threw him to the floor. 

‘Good.’ Captain Lorca stood in the doorway. No one moved or spoke as he entered the quarters. His boots rang against the metal deck. He came to a stop in front of Paul. He stared up at the captain, bright defiance in his eyes. Lorca curled his lip back. 

‘Did you really think you could fool me, _Lieutenant_?’ 

Hugh got to his feet. 

‘Captain, I can explain…’ 

Lorca raised his hand, his index and little fingers extended in a commanding gesture. 

‘Shut up. I don’t want to hear your made-up excuses.’ He looked from Hugh to Paul. ‘Don’t you people realise that nothing goes on onboard my ship without me knowing about it?’ He crouched down and looked down at Paul. ‘No one else gets to commune with your invention, was it?’ he said. ‘Not even Straal?’ 

Even if he could not see Paul’s face, he knew the glare he gave Lorca. 

‘Straal is dead.’ 

‘I know. You just can’t share, can you?’ 

‘The _Glenn_ crashed into a Hawking radiation firewall. I had nothing to do with it.’ 

‘But you’re the one who gained from it,’ Lorca said. ‘You got the tardigrade. Which is dead now, too. It seems to spread, doesn’t it?’ 

‘Just get on with it, Lorca,’ Paul said. ‘Do your worst.’ 

The captain grinned. 

‘I’m not going to kill you,’ he said. ‘I’m going to reward you.’ He reached out and grabbed the insignia on Paul’s chest. The fabric ripped. Lorca turned the badge of the globe and the dagger in his hand as he stood up. He looked at it with a sneer and tossed it at Tilly. Instinctively, she caught it. 

‘Congratulations,’ Lorca said. ‘You’re promoted, Lieutenant Tilly. You’re in charge of Engineering.’ 

She stared from him to Paul and back. 

‘But…’ 

‘You heard me,’ Lorca said. He looked down at Paul. ‘You’re getting your wish, Stamets. You want to be part of your invention? You will be.’ He turned to the guards. ‘Take him to Engineering. I want him shackled inside the spore chamber.’

***

It was an hour before Hugh managed to get into Engineering. Tilly was there, standing at Paul’s station. She looked up when he entered. She did not speak, but gave him a regretful look. He smiled at her briefly. None of this was her fault.

Paul was inside the spore chamber, his hands cuffed around part of the machinery. He leaned against it, resting his head against this arms. Hugh stopped at the chamber’s door. 

‘Could someone open this, please?’ he said, looking around. Only then did he catch sight of two of the guards that had burst into his quarters earlier that day. One of them looked at Tilly and nodded. She crossed to the chamber.

‘What are they doing here?’ Hugh said under his breath. 

‘The captain stationed them here,’ she explained as she punched a code into the door. ‘I think they’re here to make sure he doesn’t try to leave.’ She pulled open the door. 

‘Thanks.’ He stepped in and crouched. ‘Paul?’ He gave his shoulder a light shake. Paul raised his head, blinking the sleep out of his eyes. 

‘Oh. Hello.’ He tried to sit up, but the hand-cuffs pulled him back. 

‘How are you feeling?’ 

Paul blinked a few times. 

‘Okay, I think. Things look different.’ 

‘How do you mean?’ 

Paul looked around. 

‘It’s all connected.’ 

Hugh reached for his medical scanner. Perhaps the confusion was only temporary, but it disturbed him. Before he had turned it on, Tilly approached again. 

‘Doctor Culber?’ 

He pressed Paul’s shoulder and stood up. 

‘Yes, Tilly?’ 

‘The captain wants to do another jump,’ she said. 

‘I would recommend against it,’ Hugh said. ‘I don’t know if the gene transfer is done yet. I need to run proper tests…’ 

‘He said “no excuses”,’ Tilly said apologetically. ‘I know it’s not a good idea, but… I wanted to let you know.’ 

Hugh put the medical scanner back on his belt. 

‘I’m staying to observe.’ 

She nodded and stepped aside to let the guards into the chamber. They undid the manacles and heaved Paul to his feet.

‘It’s okay,’ he said to Hugh. ‘I’m fine.’ 

Nevertheless, he swayed slightly on his feet. The guards manoeuvred him into the right position and reattached the manacles.

‘Just stay still,’ Hugh said under his breath. A small smile passed over Paul’s face. 

‘I’ll try, honey.’ 

‘Ready to activate spore drive,’ said Tilly. Hugh stepped back and they closed the chamber. ‘Activating.’ 

The blue glow of the spores filled the chamber. They reflected in Paul’s eyes, making it look like there was a light inside them. Perhaps that was what distracted him and made his right leg give up. The needles protracted with a metallic hiss. 

‘No!’ Hugh screamed. Slower than it actually happened, he watched how the needle missed its mark and pushed through Paul’s chest cavity. His face contorted with pain, grimaced in anger, then want limp with shock. His knees buckled, leaving him hanging on the contraptions. A pool of blood was forming under him. 

‘Abort!’ Hugh shouted. ‘Now!’ 

‘We’re almost there,’ Tilly called back. The next moment the lights came back on. The needles detracted. Paul fell like a puppet with its strings cut.

Hugh was already grabbing at the opening mechanism. Tilly pushed past him, decisively but gently, and released the lock. 

‘Paul!’ He ran in and turned the limp body around, his fingers already pressing against his throat. There was a pulse, but his face was ashen. Blood was trickling from his mouth. ‘Computer, emergency transport,’ Hugh said. ‘Sickbay.’ 

‘ _Denied._ ’ 

‘What?’ 

One of the guards stepped up. If Tilly had not been in the chamber’s doorframe, he would have entered. 

‘Captain’s orders. He’s not to leave Engineering.’ 

‘He has a punctured lung!’ Hugh exclaimed. ‘He could die!’ 

‘Captain Lorca was adamant,’ the guard said. ‘Do what you have to do here.’ 

Hugh stared at the guard, fighting the urge to get to his feet, take the dagger from Tilly’s belt and put his anatomical knowledge to new use. The feeling of Paul’s pulse against his fingertips stopped him. 

‘Then get me a nurse,’ he said. ‘And a full field-kit, and a table.’ The guards hesitated, exchanging looks. ‘I still outrank you,’ Hugh said. ‘Do as you’re told.’ Only then did they scamper away to get what he had asked for. 

Early in his career, Hugh had had to operate on an officer during a mission, using little more than the kit he had with him and the things they had been able to find on the planet. Then, he had made it through on adrenaline and an odd sense of excitement. Performing surgery on the man he loved, laid out on a hastily disinfected steel table in Engineering felt far worse. Afterwards, he had little memory of the procedure. The Engineering was only manned with a skeleton crew again and the guards had left. Hugh sat on the floor by the chamber. On the other side of the glass, Paul was lying on a stretcher he had persuaded the medical staff to leave. It was difficult to overlook the manacles around his wrists. He knew he should get up, wash and change. Despite pulling up his sleeves and wearing an apron, his uniform was stained with blood. The professional side of him whispered things about biohazards and hygiene protocol, but the rest of him could not bear getting off the floor and leaving Paul there. 

The doors of Engineering opened. Fearing it was Lorca, he looked up, but instead, the ensigns assigned to the drive were leaving. When the door closed behind them, Hugh realised that Tilly had left her post. Moments later, she sat down on the floor beside him. It was an incongruous image – the newly polished dagger at her belt and the zipper of her uniform pulled down to show off her cleavage made her look like an officer. The way she sat with her legs crossed, her hands resting in her lap, made her look like a child. 

‘Is he going to be okay?’ she asked softly. 

Hugh hesitated. It was a complicated question. 

‘He’s out of danger,’ he finally said. ‘But this is taking a toll on him.’ 

He saw a flash of regret on Tilly’s face. She may be Hugh’s friend, but she was also Lorca’s enforcer. 

‘Is there anything we can do?’ 

Hugh thought for a moment. 

‘Yes. Plenty of things.’

***

‘Captain?’

Lorca was still focused on the report he was reading. 

‘What?’ 

‘I asked to see you,’ Hugh said. Lorca looked up. 

‘Did I say you could?’ 

‘Yes, you told me you’d be available.’ 

He put aside the report. 

‘Fine. What are you here for?’ 

‘Lieutenant Stamets, sir. You gave orders…’ 

Lorca held up a finger to silence him. 

‘Stamets. Not lieutenant.’ When Hugh frowned, Lorca said: ‘Was I not clear before? He’s a piece of equipment now. Not a crew-member.’ 

‘With all due respect, sir, crew-member or not, he’s a person, and he needs medical care,’ Hugh said. ‘The spore drive punctured his lung. We need to make sure that does not happen again.’ 

‘And why should I care?’ Lorca asked, already glancing back at the PADD he had been reading. 

‘You said he was a piece of equipment, sir. That is not all. He is the most crucial part of the spore drive. You can’t risk his life.’ 

Lorca’s eyes narrowed. 

‘What’s to say I am? He lost his footing. He got hurt. Not my fault.’ 

Hugh swallowed hard. When he spoke, he felt himself channeling Paul’s sharp tongue. 

‘If the warp core was running the risk to malfunction, wouldn’t you have it mended? Sir?’

Lorca bristled at the pause before the honorific, but the point hit home. 

‘What do you want?’ 

‘Let him out of Engineering between jumps. Let me bring him to sickbay.’ 

‘No,’ Lorca said. ‘That’s not negotiable. He stays where he is.’ 

‘Give me permission to make the jumps safer, then.’ 

‘How?’ Lorca asked. ‘You don’t have the skills to rebuild the spore drive.’ 

‘I don’t have to, sir. We can install a berth in the spore chamber so he can lie down during the jumps, and I think I can design some kind of interface to the spore drive to make the insertion less dangerous.’ 

Lorca considered it. 

‘Everything you do has to be cleared by the security detail in Engineering and me. Do you understand?’

Hugh nodded. 

‘Yes, sir. Perfectly clear.’

***

He had known better than to think that it would be easy. The guards placed in Engineering seemed not to be there to make sure that Paul stayed but instead to torment him. Every thing he thought of to help him provoked a new response. When Hugh designed implants to connect to the needles, the guards moved his manacles to wear against the tender skin around them. When he installed a berth in the spore chamber, they shackled him to it permanently. When he insisted on undoing the bonds and making him walk up and down Engineering, they pushed Hugh into the bulkhead and fell on Paul. For a fortnight afterwards, he still bore the bruises from the beating.

Since that first day, he had not heard Paul laugh. There was a dullness in his eyes and a flatness to his voice that worried him. They were seldom able to speak. When they could, it was in hushed voices as Hugh put him through various neurological tests. 

‘Follow the tip of my finger with your eyes,’ Hugh told him. As he watched Paul’s eyes move, tracing his movements, he whispered: ‘I miss you.’ 

‘I miss you too,’ Paul said. ‘And our bed, and hugging you, and being woken by your snoring…’ 

Hugh glanced over at the guards. Although Paul’s voice had risen, they were still not paying any attention to them. He turned back. 

‘Can you touch the tip of your nose with your index finger?’ 

He could. As he did it, he said: 

‘I wish you could see it. The mycelial network. It is more beautiful than anything I’ve ever seen.’ 

‘You’ll have to describe it to me,’ Hugh said and smiled. 

‘It can’t be described,’ Paul said. ‘There aren’t words.’ 

‘You can stop touching your nose now.’ 

Paul smiled a little. 

‘I hoped I’d make a mistake and you’d stay.’ 

‘I’m sorry,’ Hugh said. He had almost turned away when Paul said:

‘Hugh?’ 

‘Yes?’ 

‘Can you put the restraints on?’ Seeing his apprehension, he explained: ‘I prefer it. You don’t do it to hurt me.’ He lay back. Hugh stepped closer again and started redoing the wrist restraints. 

‘Hey!’ 

Hugh froze at the sound of the guard’s heavy footsteps. 

‘That’s not your job, Doc.’ 

‘Sorry,’ Hugh said over his shoulder. ‘I was just trying to be helpful.’ 

‘Well you’re not.’ 

‘I’ll leave it, then.’ 

He made to step away, but lingered for another moment. 

‘I love you,’ he whispered. 

Paul only mouthed his response, but his eyes said it all. 

***

 

At first, Hugh barely noticed the signs. Every time he managed to undo the restraints and walk Paul around the room, he registered that Paul leaned a little heavier against his arm. Sometimes he stumbled, but Hugh put it down to general fatigue. A month after the instalment of the berth, when Hugh came to undo the straps, he found that Paul could no longer stand. However much he put his weight on Hugh, his legs would not carry him. 

Hugh left Engineering in a hurry, not even bothering to tell Lorca he was coming. Nonetheless, the captain knew it was him when he entered the bridge.

‘Doctor Culber, you were not told to report to the bridge,’ he said without turning his chair. Hugh grabbed the back of it and whirled him around. 

‘You’re going to kill him, you know. He can’t spend his life strapped down. His muscles are atrophying.’ 

He had expected to be screamed at, perhaps even attacked. Instead, Lorca just looked at him without interest. 

‘He doesn’t need them for jumps.’ Pushing past Hugh, he headed for his ready-room 

‘What about his sanity?’ Hugh called after him. Lorca seemed not to hear. 

More than anything, that was what concerned him. The physical damage of the genetic transfer agent and the jumps were bad enough, but it was the far-off look in Paul’s eye that haunted him. The captivity had numbed him. His talent for quick comebacks and the spark of genius that would render him almost childlike was gone. Once or twice, he had caught sight of something he thought was lack of recognition. What he had been isolated from would have caused enough damage on its own, but what he was exposed to was not without harm. The mycelial network was the one thing Paul would speak of with his usual passion now. Hugh could not shake the feeling that seeing something so different from this reality so often hurt him. Many times, he had found him staring into thin air, murmuring to himself.

Hugh counted the jumps, noting any new symptoms. Soon after the hundred-and-fifty-seventh jump, he saw how the corner of Paul’s mouth drooped. 

‘Paul?’ It took him a few moments to react. Lazily, he turned his eyes towards him. ‘Give me a smile?’ 

One side of his mouth moved. The other did not. 

‘You’re such a flirt,’ he said, or at least, that was what Hugh thought he was saying. The words came out slurred. 

He did what he could there and then. Then he called for a nurse and left Engineering at a run. There had been rumours that this was a rendezvous, so he headed for the transporter room. He found Lorca in one of the corridors leading there. 

‘Sir, I need to speak to you. Now.’ 

Lorca threw his hands up in frustration. 

‘This again?’ 

‘Yes, sir. Lieutenant Stamets…’

‘You know he has no title anymore, Doctor.’

‘Fine,’ Hugh spat. ‘The piece of your spore drive that happens to be a person has had a stroke.’ 

It might have been the first thing Hugh had said to the captain that had really made him react. He stopped and looked at him. 

‘How bad?’ 

‘Not life-threatening, but the next one might be. The jumps are hurting him, sir. We can’t keep doing this to him.’ 

Lorca took a step closer. 

‘Look, _Doctor_. I don’t gave a damn about your man and his well-being. All I want you to do is keep him alive.’ 

‘And if I can’t?’ Hugh asked. ‘Interfacing with the mycelial network is taking a huge toll on him. This might be out of my hands. Even if it doesn’t kill him, the spore drive requires a sentient navigator. If he suffers extensive brain-damage, he’ll be no use to you.’ 

Lorca’s lip curled. 

‘We have the DNA compound,’he said. ‘If he dies, I’ll just find someone else. The redhead, like I ordered. Or perhaps you.’ His face was only an inch away now. Hugh could feel his sour breath against his mouth. ‘No one is indispensable, Doctor.’ He stepped back. ‘I’m late to greet our guests. You can come along and show that you haven’t forgotten how to be polite.’ 

Lorca started walking away, then stopped and turned. 

‘Do I have to make it an order, Doctor?’ 

All Hugh wanted to do was to go back to engineering. Even if there was nothing he could do for Paul, he wanted to be with him. However, the captain’s tone made it clear that he had no choice. 

‘No, sir,’ he said and followed. 

The transporter room was full. Several senior officers were there together with an honour guard. Tilly was standing at the back, looking both excited and nervous. Hugh went to stand next to her. 

‘What’s up?’ she asked under her breath. 

‘Paul,’ he whispered. 

‘Is he okay?’ 

Hugh shook his head. 

‘I’m so sorry.’ 

‘I tried to explain to the captain…’ He fell silent as someone passed them. Tilly looked at him with compassion. 

‘You know that won’t work.’ 

Hugh sighed. This was not the time and the place for this conversation. 

‘What are we here for?’ 

‘The captain of the ISS _Shenzhou_ is beaming over,’ Tilly said. ‘She’s here to talk strategy with Lorca.’ 

‘That _Shenzhou_?’ 

‘Yeah, there aren’t two,’ Tilly said, smiling a little indulgently. Hugh conceded that it had been a stupid question. Still, he was surprised. The _Shenzhou_ had gained an almost mythical standing after its role in the start of the war. 

A voice crackled over the subspace. 

_‘Discovery, this is the Shenzhou. Ready to transport.’_

The transport technician responded: 

‘Acknowledged, _Shenzhou_.’ He looked at Lorca. ‘Sir?’ 

‘Energise.’ 

The technician slid the controls into position. Hugh squinted as the transport room filled with light, which concentrated into one shining silhouette. It was far taller than Hugh had expected. The transporter effect disappeared.

The creature on the transporter pad must have been nine feet tall. It walked slightly hunched, as if it was not used to be in rooms with ceilings high enough. Even if it was furless and bipedal, the way it stepped off the pad reminded Hugh of a deer. It did not speak, and no one greeted it. It looked around the room, its long fingers twitching. 

‘What is that?’ Tilly whispered. 

‘He’s a Kelpien,’ Hugh whispered back. He was not completely sure if the pronoun was right. Although he had seen photographs and anatomical sketches, he had never seen a Kelpien in real life before. They were rare in the imperial fleet, and generally only employed directly by particularly paranoid captains. Their innate sense of danger made them the best bodyguards in the galaxy. As the Kelpien stepped around the transporter room, Hugh could see how the threat ganglia on the back of his head moved whenever he stepped close to anyone with a dagger or a phaser. When the Kelpien stopped and reached for something in his belt, Hugh felt himself stiffen, but he only pulled out a communicator. Flipping it open, he spoke into it. 

‘Clear.’ 

_‘Discovery, prepare for second transport.’_

The transporter technician jerked to attention and scrambled to respond. 

‘Acknowledged, _Shenzhou_.’ 

Again, the transporter activated. A slight figure started assembling on the transporter pad. Moments later, the captain of the _Shenzhou_ stood there. _So that’s her,_ Hugh thought. He had expected her to be taller. She moved with the assuredness of someone who was used to power. It was difficult to believe that she had only had her command for a few months. 

Lorca stepped up. 

‘Captain Burnham.’ 

‘Captain Lorca,’ she said, inclining her head. 

‘We weren’t warned about your… advance party.’ 

‘Protocol, Captain,’ Burnham said smoothly. ‘I take no risks.’ 

‘Understandable,’ Lorca said, though he was clearly not happy about it. ‘Let me introduce you to my officers. Commander Landry, Commander Airiam. Lieutenant Tilly. Doctor Culber.’ 

Burnham nodded to each in turn. Hugh gave a small bow in response. 

‘Shall we?’ Lorca said. 

‘Yes.’ 

They left the transporter room, Burnham closely flanked by her bodyguard. Not waiting for her superiors to pass, Tilly squeezed past Hugh and followed them. Hugh fell in after Landry and Airiam, not wanting to provoke Lorca further. It still let him observe Tilly, who had not looked away from Burnham since she beamed aboard. The captain must have noticed her gaze, because suddenly she stopped and turned. Tilly snapped to attention. 

‘Lieutenant Tilly, was it?’ 

‘Yes, Captain.’ 

‘You’re awfully young to be a lieutenant,’ Burnham said, looking her up and down. 

‘I received a field promotion, Captain.’ 

‘What is your position?’ 

‘Engineer, Captain.’ 

‘Hm.’ Burnham was about to turn away when Tilly spoke. 

‘Captain Burnham?’ 

She looked at her sharply. 

‘Yes, lieutenant?’ 

‘I… I wanted to ask,’ Tilly said. ‘I have read a lot about Philippa Georgiou, and I wanted to ask…’ 

Burnham cut her off. 

‘Georgiou was a pacifist traitor,’ she said. ‘Don’t take her as your role model.’ 

‘Oh. Yes. Yes, Captain.’ 

Unaware of or uninterested in Tilly’s embarrassment, Burnham set off again. Tilly waited until the rest of the group had passed and then fell in behind Hugh. He could hear her muttering under her breath: 

‘Idiot, idiot, idiot…’

***

These days, Hugh felt less like a doctor and more like a carer. Without permission to move Paul from Engineering, he could do nothing to treat him. All he did was keep him stable and comfortable, turning the spore chamber into a sickroom. The deterioration he had predicted could already be seen. Paul barely spoke, even if he often tried. Breathing was becoming difficult. Eating was impossible. Standing was out of the question. The only thing he could still do was operate the spore drive. On the captain’s orders, the needles of the drive were always inserted into the implants, anchoring him down as much as the restraints. Bitterly, Hugh thought of Lorca’s insistence that Paul was simply a part of the machine. In a way, he was exactly right. He had become an object with only one ability.

Amid it all, Hugh found himself thinking of that day when Captain Burnham came aboard. At first, he did not know why it reoccupied him. When he identified it, he thought he might be wrong. He went over it time and again, and slowly, a plan started taking shape. 

He had not been in the sickbay for weeks. Even the other medical personnel seemed surprised to see him. None of them dared to question him, and when he turned towards a nurse, she stiffened. He was not sure what kind of reputation he had gained in his absence. 

‘Nurse, could you ask Lieutenant Tilly to come down here?’ 

‘Yes, Doctor.’ 

‘Show her into examination room three when she gets here.’ 

Hugh stepped into the examination room and closed the door. He stayed a few seconds at the door, listening. When he was certain no one had approached to listen at it, he crossed to the bulkhead and opened a hidden panel. Nestled behind it sat a surveillance device. An identical one was placed in every bulkhead of the ship. He had never tried what he was going to do himself, but he had seen Paul do it several times. ‘Don’t want anyone to share in the fun,’ he had said. Hugh recalled Paul manipulating the device. He imitated his movements, pressing the same buttons and inputting the same commands. The device gave a sigh, a beep and then powered down. He would turn it on again laster when this was done, but for now, he resealed the panel. 

Less than a minute later, there came a knock on the door and the nurse ushered Tilly in. She looked around, confused. 

‘I was asked to report here.’ 

‘Yes.’ Hugh crossed to the door, turned the red light to show it was occupied and bolted the door. 

‘But I’m not due for an exam for another month,’ Tilly said. When he turned to look at her, the blood drained from her face. She backed away, bumping into the exam table. ‘Look, Doctor Culber, I don’t know what you think you’re doing…’ 

‘Don’t be stupid, Tilly,’ he said. ‘I just want to talk. Undisturbed.’ 

Tilly swallowed, trying to reassess the situation. 

‘Aren’t there bugs…?’ 

‘I disabled them in this room. I assume you don’t have anything on you that might be used to listen in?’ 

‘No. Nothing.’ 

‘Good.’ He crossed the room and sat on the exam table. She pulled herself up and sat beside him. She still seemed nervous. 

‘So… what did you want to talk about?’ 

‘Philippa Georgiou.’ 

Tilly stared at him. 

‘What?’ 

‘The late captain of the _Shenzhou_.’ 

‘I know who she is,’ Tilly said. ‘But what do you mean?’ 

‘You asked Burnham about her.’ 

Tilly groaned and rubbed her face. 

‘Yes, yes. I made a complete fool out of myself.’ 

‘You know how Burnham became captain, don’t you?’ 

‘Of course.’

Quite why Georgiou had tried to avoid a war with the Klingons, no one knew. She had not been soft before. All that was known was that Burnham had killed her captain and taken her place.

‘Do you want to rise in the ranks, Lieutenant?’ 

‘Yes.’ She took off her rank badge and looked at the back. _Stamets Paul ISS Discovery_. ‘But not like this. I didn’t tell Lorca that he’d disobeyed that order so that he would reward me, if that’s what you’re asking me.’ 

‘I’m not asking you that,’ Hugh said. ‘I’m asking if you want to be captain.’ 

‘What…?’ She interrupted herself. ‘I mean, yes. But what does that have to do with anything?’ 

‘You asked Burnham because you wanted to ask her about how she became captain, and how Georgiou became captain, didn’t you?’ 

‘They got to the chair the same way.’ Tilly looked him in the eye. ‘What are you getting at?’ 

Hugh paused, giving himself a final chance to back out. He did not. 

‘I am going to kill Captain Lorca.’ 

Tilly stared. 

‘What? Why? You’re not in the chain of command… Oh.’ She stopped, letting the realisation sink it. 

‘I’m not interested in power,’ Hugh said. ‘I only care about Paul.’ 

‘And you want me to do the dirty work?’ 

Hugh shook his head. 

‘No. I want you as an ally. There’ll be a power vacuum. There needs to be someone there to fill it.’ 

‘I’m a lieutenant. I’m twenty-one,’ Tilly objected. ‘I’m not ready to be captain.’ 

‘I’m not asking you to be,’ Hugh said. ‘Not yet. Will you help me?’ 

Tilly drew a deep, long breath. 

‘Yes.’ 

They shook on it.

***

There were three guards outside the captain’s quarters. When Hugh approached, one of them stepped in front of him.

‘What are you doing here?’ 

‘I was called,’ he said. ‘I was told there was a medical emergency.’ 

‘Doctor Garcia is already in here.’

‘I outrank Doctor Garcia,’ Hugh said. ‘And I outrank you. Now let me in.’ 

The guard hesitated, but then stepped aside. Hugh tapped his medical override code into the door and stepped in. 

In the semi-darkness, the white uniforms of the medics stood out. They all stood or crouched around where the captain sat. All he had on was underwear and a dagger, strapped to his lower leg. Despite the weapon, he looked pathetic, covered in sweat and shaking violently. His eyes were watering as he made a pitiful sound and doubled over to vomit into the bucket placed close to the chair. Doctor Garcia placed a hand on his neck. He swatted her hand away. 

‘Get off me, you incompetent bitch!’ 

She stepped back, startled. Hugh gave her a reassuring look. She nodded, grateful to be replaced. 

‘Captain Lorca.’ He crouched in front of him. 

‘If you’re here to complain, Culber, I’m going to upend this bucket over your head.’ 

‘I’m here to help. You’re not looking very well.’ 

‘Stellar observation,’ Lorca rasped. ‘Starfleet spent all those resources on you for that kind of thing? I’ve been throwing up for the best part of an hour. Of course I’m not looking well!’ 

‘Let me take some readings.’ 

Lorca rested his head in one hand and with the other, made a gesture Hugh took as consent. He did his scans and studied them. When he put aside the scanner, Lorca raised his head and peered into the bucket. 

‘Is my optical implant malfunctioning, or is that green?’ 

‘Yes, it is,’ Hugh said. ‘That made me wonder. These readings confirmed my suspicions. Your liver appears to have been damaged.’

Lorca stared at him, clearly not following. 

‘You’ve ingested poison, Captain.’ 

The captain got to his feet. Hugh grabbed his arm to steady him. 

‘Poison?’ Lorca repeated. ‘POISON!?’

‘Yes. Specifically, from the _Terrestrius Manus_. It’s a dangerous poison, but you don’t seem to have received a fatal dose. But we should get you to sickbay now at once.’ He made Lorca sit back in the chair before turning to Garcia. ‘Have them bring a stretcher.’ When he looked back at Lorca, he was supporting his head in his hands. 

‘ _Terrestrius Manus_ ,’ he murmured. ‘What is that?’ 

‘It’s a plant, sir, native to Zeta Reticuli A.’ 

Lorca looked up at him blearily. 

‘What’s the matter, sir?’ 

‘I know who did this to me,’ he said. ‘Zeta Reticuli A was charted two years ago, by the ISS _Darwin_. Only one person from that ship serves on this one.’ He raised his eyes. ‘Guards!’ The door opened and the guards outside came running. ‘Landry,’ he said. ‘Find me Landry.’ 

‘Sir, this has to wait,’ Hugh said. ‘We need to bring you to sickbay.’ 

‘Find her,’ Lorca shouted. ‘Put her in the brig, and no one put a _finger_ on her before I’m there. I want to do it myself.’

***

Several hours later, Hugh entered engineering. It was almost empty but for Tilly, who was at her station. She looked up when he came in.

‘Hi.’ 

‘Hello.’ 

She rounded the console, moving away from the bulkheads. 

‘I heard someone poisoned Lorca.’ 

‘Yes.’ 

She dropped her voice. 

‘But he survived.’ 

‘That was the point,’ Hugh said quietly. ‘Landry, however, won’t.’ 

Tilly gave him a strange look. 

‘Are you clearing a way for me?’ 

‘Airiam will become first officer now,’ Hugh said. ‘You can probably expect to be promoted soon. And if, at some point in the future, something were to go wrong with her electronics…’ 

‘What about Lorca?’ 

‘We’ll get to him.’

Hugh crossed to the spore chamber and stepped inside. Tilly lingered in the doorway. Paul did not turn his head, but his eyes moved. Hugh smiled down at him and stroked his hair. 

‘And then?’ Tilly asked. Hugh turned to looked at her. 

‘You find some other way to operate the spore drive,’ he said. ‘You give me Paul. You let him die with dignity.’ 

She nodded. 

‘Of course.’ 

Hugh turned back. He thought he saw a smile in Paul’s eyes. 

‘I love you too,’ he said. Paul blinked. A tear dislodged from his eyelashes. Hugh wiped it away and kissed his forehead. ‘Soon.’


End file.
